1 00:00:06,716 --> 00:00:08,718 [dramatic music plays] 2 00:00:19,812 --> 00:00:21,773 [Graff] There was no higher mission, 3 00:00:21,856 --> 00:00:24,901 no more important hunt in the world 4 00:00:24,984 --> 00:00:28,488 than finding Osama bin Laden in the wake of 9/11. 5 00:00:28,988 --> 00:00:30,281 [Bush] I want justice. 6 00:00:31,032 --> 00:00:34,827 And, uh, there's an old poster out west, as I recall, 7 00:00:34,911 --> 00:00:37,830 that said "Wanted. Dead or alive." 8 00:00:37,914 --> 00:00:42,585 It was a hunt that the US expended millions 9 00:00:42,668 --> 00:00:47,548 if not tens of millions of dollars in year after year, 10 00:00:47,632 --> 00:00:53,596 with a literal cast of thousands of US military intelligence analysts, 11 00:00:53,679 --> 00:00:55,098 intelligence officers. 12 00:00:55,181 --> 00:00:59,602 He was the number one target, the most hunted man in the world. 13 00:00:59,685 --> 00:01:01,270 [artillery fire, explosions] 14 00:01:02,647 --> 00:01:07,819 And year after year, the US had no sign of him at all. 15 00:01:10,738 --> 00:01:14,826 9/11 was the single most catastrophic event, 16 00:01:14,909 --> 00:01:17,954 I would argue, in our nation’s history since the Civil War. 17 00:01:18,663 --> 00:01:20,289 Thousands of Americans were killed. 18 00:01:20,373 --> 00:01:22,834 Iconic buildings, like the World Trade Center, 19 00:01:22,917 --> 00:01:24,168 reduced to rubble. 20 00:01:26,045 --> 00:01:28,756 Osama bin Laden was the personification of the enemy. 21 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:30,007 He was the perpetrator, 22 00:01:30,091 --> 00:01:33,386 he was the orchestrator of that catastrophic attack. 23 00:01:33,469 --> 00:01:36,264 That brought a lot of urgency to the task of getting bin Laden 24 00:01:36,347 --> 00:01:40,810 so that he couldn’t orchestrate something, you know, along the lines of another 9/11. 25 00:01:42,270 --> 00:01:45,523 [Bush] I know full well that bin Laden and his cronies 26 00:01:45,606 --> 00:01:47,608 would like to harm America again. 27 00:01:48,234 --> 00:01:50,778 Bin Laden and his cronies would like to harm our allies. 28 00:01:50,862 --> 00:01:53,656 How do I know that? I receive intelligence reports 29 00:01:53,739 --> 00:01:57,785 on a daily basis that indicates that that's his desire. 30 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,247 [man] They have blood on their hands, 31 00:02:01,330 --> 00:02:04,500 from September 11th and from other acts against America, 32 00:02:04,584 --> 00:02:07,587 in Kenya, Tanzania, and Yemen. 33 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,090 We must identify them, we must find them, 34 00:02:11,174 --> 00:02:12,425 and we must seize them. 35 00:02:21,184 --> 00:02:23,519 [Rasmussen] The CIA comes to the White House 36 00:02:23,603 --> 00:02:26,105 around Labor Day in 2010, 37 00:02:26,189 --> 00:02:29,525 and informs the president that there is a compound of interest. 38 00:02:31,277 --> 00:02:36,699 A place in Pakistan that they suspect might potentially be a location 39 00:02:37,283 --> 00:02:39,702 where bin Laden could be living and holed up. 40 00:02:41,996 --> 00:02:45,166 US intelligence managed to locate someone 41 00:02:45,249 --> 00:02:49,212 that they believed had served as a courier for al-Qaeda 42 00:02:49,295 --> 00:02:54,759 and a courier for bin Laden in the years after 9/11. 43 00:02:57,178 --> 00:03:01,974 The US intelligence managed to begin to track him across Pakistan. 44 00:03:04,810 --> 00:03:07,939 Operating in Pakistan was enormously dangerous, 45 00:03:08,022 --> 00:03:09,815 enormously complicated, 46 00:03:09,899 --> 00:03:14,987 but had long been the center of the hunt for the leadership of al-Qaeda. 47 00:03:15,071 --> 00:03:17,698 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other leaders 48 00:03:17,782 --> 00:03:20,451 were actually captured in Pakistan. 49 00:03:22,119 --> 00:03:25,957 They tracked a white SUV that the courier was driving 50 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,962 to this unique compound in a town called Abbottabad, 51 00:03:31,045 --> 00:03:36,008 a resort community filled with Pakistan’s military academy, 52 00:03:36,092 --> 00:03:38,970 sort of the West Point of Pakistan. 53 00:03:41,639 --> 00:03:43,766 [Rasmussen] This was a circumstantial case, at best, 54 00:03:43,849 --> 00:03:44,767 in these early phases. 55 00:03:45,559 --> 00:03:47,353 There was a single individual 56 00:03:47,436 --> 00:03:50,982 who was routinely seen pacing around the courtyard, 57 00:03:51,065 --> 00:03:53,234 seemingly as if trying to gain exercise 58 00:03:53,317 --> 00:03:56,988 within the confines of a small, um, limited space. 59 00:03:57,071 --> 00:04:00,658 This was a person who had the kind of physical stature 60 00:04:00,741 --> 00:04:04,245 that would approximate what we knew Osama bin Laden to have. 61 00:04:05,371 --> 00:04:08,165 [Graff] The best the US intelligence was able to estimate, 62 00:04:08,249 --> 00:04:11,752 was that there was a 50/50 shot that bin Laden was inside. 63 00:04:19,051 --> 00:04:22,346 [Rasmussen] As CIA presented the intelligence case, 64 00:04:22,430 --> 00:04:24,265 early on, President Obama signaled… 65 00:04:24,724 --> 00:04:26,642 "If this is going to be a thing… 66 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:28,978 I’m going to want options." 67 00:04:30,146 --> 00:04:33,733 One was the idea of a raid involving US personnel… 68 00:04:35,192 --> 00:04:37,320 to insert an assault force 69 00:04:37,403 --> 00:04:40,823 of US Navy Seals onto the compound in Abbottabad. 70 00:04:41,782 --> 00:04:44,952 To have aviation assets, in this case helicopters, 71 00:04:45,036 --> 00:04:48,164 bring the assault force to the compound, land on the compound, 72 00:04:48,247 --> 00:04:51,542 carry out a sweep of the compound, 73 00:04:51,625 --> 00:04:53,377 identify occupants of the compound, 74 00:04:53,461 --> 00:04:56,547 find Osama bin Laden if he’s there, capture him if he’s there. 75 00:04:56,630 --> 00:04:58,507 If resistance is encountered, 76 00:04:58,591 --> 00:05:02,219 you know, engage in whatever necessary defensive measures are needed to… 77 00:05:02,303 --> 00:05:05,723 to keep our operators safe, and then to depart the compound. 78 00:05:05,806 --> 00:05:07,933 That’s it in its most simplistic form. 79 00:05:11,103 --> 00:05:15,107 [Graff] This was a type of operation that US forces were quite familiar with, 80 00:05:15,191 --> 00:05:19,737 but the fact that they had to carry it out inside of Pakistan, 81 00:05:19,820 --> 00:05:24,116 the sovereign nation where the US was not supposed to be, 82 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,453 added an immense level of complexity to this. 83 00:05:34,377 --> 00:05:38,881 There was always this enormous frustration also with Pakistan. 84 00:05:40,674 --> 00:05:46,138 There was no question but that there were sanctuaries in Pakistan. 85 00:05:48,599 --> 00:05:50,351 [Whitlock] Pakistan was playing a double game, 86 00:05:50,434 --> 00:05:52,853 and the United States was really slow to pick up on it. 87 00:05:54,230 --> 00:05:58,025 They rounded up a lot of al-Qaeda people in their cities. 88 00:05:58,651 --> 00:06:01,278 But at the same time, they're giving support to the Taliban 89 00:06:01,362 --> 00:06:02,613 and other insurgents. 90 00:06:04,073 --> 00:06:07,159 [Graff] There was a very real fear in the US government 91 00:06:07,243 --> 00:06:11,789 that aspects or corners of Pakistani intelligence 92 00:06:11,872 --> 00:06:16,502 might well have been supporting or protecting bin Laden 93 00:06:16,585 --> 00:06:18,421 in the years after 9/11. 94 00:06:19,922 --> 00:06:22,633 Pakistan is also a nuclear country. 95 00:06:23,717 --> 00:06:28,472 This was an operation that could have gone very wrong 96 00:06:28,556 --> 00:06:30,558 in a lot of different ways, 97 00:06:30,641 --> 00:06:34,562 with a lot of very serious geopolitical consequences. 98 00:06:40,109 --> 00:06:42,111 [Rasmussen] On the day of the operation, 99 00:06:42,194 --> 00:06:44,655 the people involved in the decision-making process 100 00:06:44,738 --> 00:06:48,534 that were Washington-based gathered in the White House Situation Room. 101 00:06:55,374 --> 00:06:57,501 [Graff] The beginnings of the raid go like clockwork. 102 00:06:59,378 --> 00:07:03,716 The helicopter flight into Pakistan goes undetected. 103 00:07:05,676 --> 00:07:09,180 They arrive right on schedule at the compound. 104 00:07:10,055 --> 00:07:15,352 And then in just the first few seconds over the compound, 105 00:07:15,478 --> 00:07:16,687 trouble hits. 106 00:07:18,272 --> 00:07:22,943 [Petraeus] The helicopter settled more than the pilot thought it would, 107 00:07:23,027 --> 00:07:27,740 and it essentially crash-landed on the roof of a building in the compound. 108 00:07:27,823 --> 00:07:30,993 And it was pretty clear that it wasn’t gonna fly out of there. 109 00:07:32,453 --> 00:07:35,706 The question now is, "What do you do about that helicopter, 110 00:07:35,789 --> 00:07:38,751 uh, and how do you get those forces out that came in on it?" 111 00:07:41,212 --> 00:07:44,840 [Graff] Back in Washington, everyone's heart stops. 112 00:07:49,011 --> 00:07:54,183 Everyone is suddenly fearful that they might be watching a massacre, 113 00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:59,563 or even the capture of US Navy Seals inside an allied nation. 114 00:08:01,524 --> 00:08:04,485 [Rasmussen] All of these questions are buzzing around people’s minds… 115 00:08:05,277 --> 00:08:09,615 and yet it’s also very quickly clear from Vice Admiral McRaven, 116 00:08:09,698 --> 00:08:11,325 that the operation is proceeding. 117 00:08:11,408 --> 00:08:14,912 It has not derailed in any sense, the operation itself. 118 00:08:17,081 --> 00:08:19,750 For the period of time it takes the assault force 119 00:08:19,833 --> 00:08:22,378 to work their way room by room, 120 00:08:22,461 --> 00:08:26,465 there’s still uncertainty about whether bin Laden is actually there. 121 00:08:35,933 --> 00:08:38,936 [Graff] Then the radio call back to Washington, 122 00:08:39,019 --> 00:08:40,646 back to Afghanistan… 123 00:08:41,397 --> 00:08:45,734 "For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo." 124 00:08:45,818 --> 00:08:47,444 [dramatic music intensifies] 125 00:08:47,528 --> 00:08:50,656 It was the code word for finding bin Laden. 126 00:08:51,615 --> 00:08:55,202 The word comes back from the Navy Seals in Abbottabad, 127 00:08:55,286 --> 00:08:57,955 "Osama bin Laden killed in action." 128 00:08:58,455 --> 00:09:02,626 That word goes back to Washington, and they realize for the first time 129 00:09:02,710 --> 00:09:06,046 that they think that they have actually gotten bin Laden. 130 00:09:11,969 --> 00:09:14,597 In the end, the US Navy Seals were on the ground in Abbottabad 131 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:15,973 for about 40 minutes. 132 00:09:18,267 --> 00:09:21,729 There had actually been a set of backup helicopters 133 00:09:21,812 --> 00:09:24,356 staged nearby already. 134 00:09:24,982 --> 00:09:28,068 And so they destroy the crashed helicopter. 135 00:09:31,572 --> 00:09:32,865 And they helicoptered out 136 00:09:32,948 --> 00:09:35,451 with all the intelligence that they could carry, 137 00:09:35,534 --> 00:09:38,662 and the man that they believed was Osama bin Laden 138 00:09:38,746 --> 00:09:41,332 in a body bag on the floor of the helicopter. 139 00:09:43,125 --> 00:09:47,755 Now the question is, "How can you verify that this really is Osama bin Laden?" 140 00:09:49,214 --> 00:09:53,594 [Graff] They had CIA resources who knew bin Laden, 141 00:09:53,677 --> 00:09:56,221 who had been chasing bin Laden for some time, 142 00:09:56,305 --> 00:09:59,016 who positively ID’d the body. 143 00:09:59,099 --> 00:10:03,187 They had one US Navy Seal lie down next to bin Laden’s body 144 00:10:03,270 --> 00:10:05,022 to determine his height. 145 00:10:06,565 --> 00:10:10,277 His face had been too damaged by gunfire 146 00:10:10,361 --> 00:10:12,738 for a positive facial ID, 147 00:10:12,821 --> 00:10:17,201 but they were able, they believed, to identify him off of his ears. 148 00:10:19,203 --> 00:10:21,205 [dramatic music plays] 149 00:10:41,725 --> 00:10:42,559 [Obama] Good evening. 150 00:10:43,686 --> 00:10:47,564 Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world… 151 00:10:48,148 --> 00:10:52,194 that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, 152 00:10:52,820 --> 00:10:54,071 the leader of al-Qaeda. 153 00:10:54,780 --> 00:10:59,993 [crowd] ♪ O'er the land of the free ♪ 154 00:11:00,077 --> 00:11:06,208 -[cheering] -♪ And the home of the brave ♪ 155 00:11:07,376 --> 00:11:09,586 [Rasmussen] When I step out onto West Executive Avenue, 156 00:11:09,670 --> 00:11:12,798 I look to my right up to Pennsylvania Avenue… 157 00:11:12,881 --> 00:11:15,175 [crowd, chanting] USA! USA! USA! 158 00:11:15,259 --> 00:11:19,805 …and it’s filled with hundreds if not thousands of people, 159 00:11:20,305 --> 00:11:22,850 out in the streets cheering, running around, hugging, 160 00:11:22,933 --> 00:11:25,060 -congratulating each other… -[cheering] 161 00:11:25,144 --> 00:11:29,648 …all who must have heard the news within the last half hour to 45 minutes. 162 00:11:29,732 --> 00:11:33,694 So, literally, spontaneously showing up on the streets of Washington 163 00:11:33,777 --> 00:11:37,448 to express their emotions about this. 164 00:11:37,531 --> 00:11:40,159 And I was blown away by that. 165 00:11:40,242 --> 00:11:43,203 [crowd] ♪ God bless America ♪ 166 00:11:43,287 --> 00:11:45,581 [crowd] …liberty and justice for all! 167 00:11:45,664 --> 00:11:48,041 [Rasmussen] It said something pretty profound 168 00:11:48,125 --> 00:11:51,587 about what this moment must have meant to so many Americans. 169 00:11:54,381 --> 00:11:56,800 This job was him. This was him. 170 00:11:56,884 --> 00:11:59,303 -Good job, national security team. -Sir. 171 00:11:59,386 --> 00:12:01,513 Thank you. Yeah. Proud of you. 172 00:12:02,473 --> 00:12:04,099 -Your guys did a great job. -They did. 173 00:12:04,933 --> 00:12:06,935 [Petraeus] It was an extraordinary evening. 174 00:12:07,019 --> 00:12:10,314 And at the end of it, I remember shaking the hand of the colonel, 175 00:12:10,397 --> 00:12:12,274 and then we just went on about business. 176 00:12:12,357 --> 00:12:15,235 You know, there was no high five or celebration. 177 00:12:15,319 --> 00:12:17,821 It was a recognition that this is very significant, 178 00:12:17,905 --> 00:12:21,325 but there's 12 operations ongoing in Afghanistan tonight, 179 00:12:21,408 --> 00:12:24,745 a number of which were, in many different respects, 180 00:12:24,828 --> 00:12:28,957 more challenging, more risky than the one that had just been conducted. 181 00:12:30,584 --> 00:12:33,378 [Graff] The death of bin Laden, in many ways, 182 00:12:33,462 --> 00:12:36,215 marked the end of al-Qaeda, 183 00:12:36,757 --> 00:12:41,261 but not the end of the threat that al-Qaeda had unleashed on the world. 184 00:12:41,345 --> 00:12:42,971 [dramatic music plays] 185 00:12:47,392 --> 00:12:49,812 The war in Afghanistan, 186 00:12:49,895 --> 00:12:53,357 the instability in Iraq has now, actually in many ways, 187 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,486 gone on longer after the death of bin Laden 188 00:12:57,569 --> 00:13:00,447 than it had before bin Laden was killed. 189 00:13:02,115 --> 00:13:04,326 [dramatic music plays] 190 00:13:56,962 --> 00:13:59,214 [man] My law school, George Mason University Law School, 191 00:13:59,298 --> 00:14:02,092 is located just a couple of miles from the Pentagon. 192 00:14:04,511 --> 00:14:07,723 Like most Americans, of course, I was shocked, dismayed, angered. 193 00:14:08,348 --> 00:14:11,351 All those emotions that people still feel to this day. 194 00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:15,480 I remember feeling that I should do something about this, 195 00:14:15,564 --> 00:14:17,691 and I should be part of this fight. 196 00:14:17,774 --> 00:14:19,735 I read an article in The Washington Post, 197 00:14:19,818 --> 00:14:22,070 I think it was my third year in college, 198 00:14:22,154 --> 00:14:24,948 about the impact that judge advocates had 199 00:14:25,032 --> 00:14:27,200 during the Nuremberg proceedings after World War II, 200 00:14:27,284 --> 00:14:31,204 in terms of advancing the rule of law, and also advancing the principles 201 00:14:31,288 --> 00:14:35,626 that currently are being applied around the world, in theory, at least, 202 00:14:35,709 --> 00:14:39,171 as it relates to fair trial guarantees for criminal defendants, 203 00:14:39,254 --> 00:14:41,256 and thought that's an interesting career path. 204 00:14:47,596 --> 00:14:50,265 When I returned from Iraq after a surge deployment, 205 00:14:50,349 --> 00:14:53,644 I spent two years in Germany as a military public defender, 206 00:14:53,727 --> 00:14:56,396 representing soldiers before courts martial. 207 00:14:57,147 --> 00:15:00,400 I remember I was in a field, walking my dog at the time, 208 00:15:00,484 --> 00:15:04,529 and I had a call from the placement office saying, 209 00:15:04,613 --> 00:15:07,449 “Jason, we think we got a great assignment for you." 210 00:15:08,825 --> 00:15:10,494 "How about Guantanamo Bay?" 211 00:15:12,412 --> 00:15:13,747 This is 2011. 212 00:15:14,331 --> 00:15:16,959 We're about ten years removed from 9/11. 213 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,463 And in the ensuing period, a lot had come out about the torture memos… 214 00:15:22,422 --> 00:15:25,092 about some of the problems associated 215 00:15:25,175 --> 00:15:28,804 with an overly aggressive US stance for the war on terror. 216 00:15:29,471 --> 00:15:31,390 A lot of US civil liberties concerns. 217 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,562 Later I got a call that I would be working as a support counsel 218 00:15:37,646 --> 00:15:41,483 for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of 9/11. 219 00:15:43,986 --> 00:15:45,737 The allegations against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed 220 00:15:45,821 --> 00:15:49,116 are that he planned, orchestrated, and coordinated the events of 9/11, 221 00:15:49,199 --> 00:15:51,576 and that he was the individual who had planned it all. 222 00:15:53,745 --> 00:15:59,167 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in Rawalpindi in 2003 by Pakistani forces. 223 00:16:00,585 --> 00:16:02,671 And then was detained by the CIA 224 00:16:02,754 --> 00:16:05,549 in various overseas locations outside of the United States, 225 00:16:05,632 --> 00:16:06,842 often called "Black Sites," 226 00:16:06,925 --> 00:16:11,096 and subjected to, what some might call, enhanced interrogation techniques. 227 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,724 What others might call torture. 228 00:16:18,729 --> 00:16:21,773 He was subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation. 229 00:16:22,274 --> 00:16:26,111 Up to 180 hours of sleep deprivation is alleged. 230 00:16:26,194 --> 00:16:29,906 According to the declassified records, 183 sessions of the waterboard. 231 00:16:32,743 --> 00:16:34,619 He ended up in Guantanamo Bay. 232 00:16:37,039 --> 00:16:38,915 [interviewer] What was your reaction to hearing 233 00:16:38,999 --> 00:16:42,002 that you would essentially be defending him? 234 00:16:42,127 --> 00:16:44,755 [Wright] In this particular case, of course, 235 00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:47,424 fighting for the rights of detainees in Guantanamo Bay 236 00:16:47,507 --> 00:16:50,969 is not a politically convenient topic for anyone to pursue. 237 00:16:51,762 --> 00:16:53,055 But it's not about the client. 238 00:16:53,805 --> 00:16:56,224 It's about defending rights for everyone at the end of the day. 239 00:16:56,308 --> 00:16:59,895 [reporter] Now, the White House wants Congress to spell out the limits 240 00:16:59,978 --> 00:17:03,482 of how terrorist suspects can be interrogated and then prosecuted 241 00:17:03,565 --> 00:17:05,942 under proposed military commissions. 242 00:17:07,277 --> 00:17:10,363 [interviewer] Why not try these detainees in the United States? 243 00:17:10,447 --> 00:17:13,075 We have a strong and robust criminal justice system. 244 00:17:13,158 --> 00:17:15,410 I think that’s a fair question to ask. 245 00:17:15,494 --> 00:17:19,956 And we have tried some certain terrorists in the United States. 246 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,376 A key example is Zacarias Moussaoui. 247 00:17:23,460 --> 00:17:26,546 [reporter] Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence 248 00:17:26,630 --> 00:17:31,384 after being convicted in federal court, in the nation's first 9/11 trial. 249 00:17:31,968 --> 00:17:35,639 [Gonzales] Part of the concern that we have is that not every detainee 250 00:17:35,722 --> 00:17:39,226 at Guantanamo is gonna represent themselves and plead guilty. 251 00:17:39,309 --> 00:17:43,105 Concerns are that they would use the trial as a platform 252 00:17:43,188 --> 00:17:45,649 to condemn the United States, 253 00:17:46,191 --> 00:17:50,570 and to praise the efforts of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, 254 00:17:50,654 --> 00:17:53,240 because it would be a propaganda opportunity 255 00:17:53,323 --> 00:17:54,574 for these individuals. 256 00:17:54,658 --> 00:17:57,119 We also worried about the safety, quite frankly. 257 00:17:57,202 --> 00:18:01,414 There would be serious concerns about attacks by terrorist groups 258 00:18:01,915 --> 00:18:02,833 during that trial. 259 00:18:04,543 --> 00:18:07,170 [Greenberg] The problem with the Guantanamo detainees 260 00:18:07,254 --> 00:18:08,380 was that they were tortured. 261 00:18:09,131 --> 00:18:11,466 And that raised a whole bunch of questions, 262 00:18:11,550 --> 00:18:15,554 the first of which being, what would that do if a jury heard that? 263 00:18:15,637 --> 00:18:18,515 The second being that confessions were given under torture 264 00:18:18,598 --> 00:18:21,309 and what would that mean for the confession itself? 265 00:18:22,561 --> 00:18:25,564 And the defense would be able to argue very strongly 266 00:18:25,647 --> 00:18:27,482 against that even being introduced. 267 00:18:29,818 --> 00:18:33,738 [woman] CCR, Center for Constitutional Rights, along with co-counsel, 268 00:18:33,822 --> 00:18:39,161 filed a habeas case in the first weeks after 9/11, in February of 2002, 269 00:18:39,244 --> 00:18:42,414 challenging the government’s position that detainees shouldn't have the right 270 00:18:42,497 --> 00:18:44,624 to know why they were being held, 271 00:18:44,708 --> 00:18:47,794 or have any ability to challenge their detention. 272 00:18:48,378 --> 00:18:51,882 And that case, ultimately, worked its way up to the Supreme Court. 273 00:18:53,341 --> 00:18:55,844 The US Supreme Court heard arguments today, 274 00:18:55,927 --> 00:18:58,388 in a case that goes to the heart of the war on terror. 275 00:18:58,471 --> 00:19:01,808 The detention of more than 600 terrorist suspects 276 00:19:01,892 --> 00:19:04,561 on the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 277 00:19:05,854 --> 00:19:10,775 In effect, the justices were reviewing the legality of those detentions. 278 00:19:10,859 --> 00:19:14,696 [Paradis] In 2006, the court says that the military commissions are unlawful 279 00:19:14,779 --> 00:19:16,698 because they violate international law. 280 00:19:16,781 --> 00:19:21,286 That detainees in the War on Terrorism are protected by the Geneva Conventions. 281 00:19:21,369 --> 00:19:23,038 [applause] 282 00:19:23,121 --> 00:19:26,291 At the end of 2006, the Military Commissions Act was passed 283 00:19:26,374 --> 00:19:30,545 to legalize all the things that the Supreme Court said were illegal 284 00:19:30,629 --> 00:19:31,963 only a few months before. 285 00:19:32,047 --> 00:19:34,341 One was a stripping of habeas corpus. 286 00:19:34,424 --> 00:19:37,344 So it took away the rights of all Guantanamo detainees 287 00:19:37,427 --> 00:19:41,097 to challenge the legality of even their detention, and their treatment. 288 00:19:41,598 --> 00:19:43,934 Habeas corpus is the right to go to court 289 00:19:44,017 --> 00:19:47,604 to say that what's being done to you is illegal. And that's all it is. 290 00:19:47,687 --> 00:19:51,149 It's nothing more than the opportunity to have your day in court. 291 00:19:51,233 --> 00:19:57,280 So as a lawyer, to deny habeas corpus is in essence to deny the law. 292 00:19:58,531 --> 00:20:02,410 It's to make Guantanamo what people actually said it was: 293 00:20:02,494 --> 00:20:04,663 a legal equivalent of outer space. 294 00:20:06,498 --> 00:20:09,417 When Barack Obama took office in 2009, 295 00:20:09,501 --> 00:20:13,922 he issued an executive order to halt all military commission proceedings, 296 00:20:14,005 --> 00:20:16,174 these special trials in Guantanamo, 297 00:20:16,258 --> 00:20:18,635 and to close Guantanamo within a year. 298 00:20:19,219 --> 00:20:23,890 A lot of the Guantanamo issues entered this multi-year period of limbo, 299 00:20:23,974 --> 00:20:26,851 where the Obama administration kind of just tried to figure out 300 00:20:26,935 --> 00:20:28,353 what it was going to do. 301 00:20:28,853 --> 00:20:32,107 [Obama] With the Afghan war ending, this needs to be the year 302 00:20:32,190 --> 00:20:35,860 Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee transfers 303 00:20:35,944 --> 00:20:39,030 and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. 304 00:20:39,656 --> 00:20:41,616 Because we counter terrorism, 305 00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:44,995 not just through intelligence and military actions, 306 00:20:45,078 --> 00:20:48,164 but by remaining true to our constitutional ideals. 307 00:20:48,248 --> 00:20:50,125 I think the Obama administration itself 308 00:20:50,208 --> 00:20:53,628 simply lost the incentive to do anything about it. 309 00:20:53,712 --> 00:20:56,089 They had other political priorities. 310 00:21:03,513 --> 00:21:06,182 [Wright] Everyone, at the end of the day, is entitled to a fair trial. 311 00:21:06,266 --> 00:21:07,851 And that's what I've been asked to do, 312 00:21:07,934 --> 00:21:09,811 to defend my client to the best of my ability. 313 00:21:11,146 --> 00:21:16,985 By any measure, if these techniques were applied on a US person, a US citizen, 314 00:21:17,068 --> 00:21:19,738 on any criminal defendant in a US process… 315 00:21:20,363 --> 00:21:22,157 it would shock the conscience. 316 00:21:22,907 --> 00:21:25,368 Growing up in Virginia and going to school, 317 00:21:25,452 --> 00:21:28,663 and learning the Constitution and Bill of Rights, you want to believe 318 00:21:28,747 --> 00:21:32,250 that our leaders would pass a law that would be fair to anyone. 319 00:21:35,170 --> 00:21:38,590 For anyone who's taken a look at the Military Commissions Act of 2006, 320 00:21:38,673 --> 00:21:43,386 passed by the Bush Administration, and the Military Commissions Act of 2009, 321 00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:45,430 which was passed by President Obama, 322 00:21:45,513 --> 00:21:50,143 you will see that this whole system has been set up for failure from day one. 323 00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:56,816 There really was this almost architecture put in place that really made it difficult 324 00:21:57,609 --> 00:21:59,903 to do your job as a defense counsel. 325 00:21:59,986 --> 00:22:01,279 Truly difficult. 326 00:22:02,489 --> 00:22:06,451 It became apparent that the policy here of the US government is not really 327 00:22:06,534 --> 00:22:08,453 to pursue a fair trial for anyone. 328 00:22:09,037 --> 00:22:13,041 It's essentially to make sure that the attorneys do just good enough of a job 329 00:22:13,124 --> 00:22:15,293 that this process looks legitimate. 330 00:22:15,377 --> 00:22:17,796 But let's make sure they don't do too good of a job. 331 00:22:22,592 --> 00:22:26,054 This military commission process has been designed 332 00:22:26,554 --> 00:22:28,306 to ensure that no information 333 00:22:28,390 --> 00:22:31,434 about the treatment that these men suffered from, 334 00:22:31,518 --> 00:22:33,728 that it never reaches the light of day. 335 00:22:34,646 --> 00:22:36,147 It's about hiding war crimes. 336 00:22:37,524 --> 00:22:38,733 And so I said no. 337 00:22:39,526 --> 00:22:41,319 It's unethical for me to do this. 338 00:22:42,153 --> 00:22:47,200 I resigned from from the US Army as an active duty military officer. 339 00:22:49,244 --> 00:22:51,496 [interviewer] From the perspective of many people, 340 00:22:51,579 --> 00:22:54,207 you know, it doesn’t get worse than Khalid Sheik Mohammed. 341 00:22:54,290 --> 00:22:57,085 Right? This horrific attack on the World Trade Center… 342 00:22:57,585 --> 00:22:59,003 and on the Pentagon. 343 00:23:01,339 --> 00:23:06,344 So how is defending this guy worth stepping away from your position? 344 00:23:06,428 --> 00:23:08,054 Essentially leaving the Army. 345 00:23:08,138 --> 00:23:09,722 Yeah. I understand that. 346 00:23:10,807 --> 00:23:11,975 I understand that. 347 00:23:12,058 --> 00:23:16,062 I stepped away from active duty in the Army. 348 00:23:16,855 --> 00:23:20,024 But, in a sense, I wasn’t stepping away from anything. 349 00:23:20,108 --> 00:23:27,073 It's really standing up for something is the way that I think… I see it, 350 00:23:27,157 --> 00:23:28,241 and what I had to do. 351 00:23:30,326 --> 00:23:33,121 There's a great quote in a book written by Anton Myrer. 352 00:23:33,997 --> 00:23:37,917 “If given the choice between being a good soldier 353 00:23:38,001 --> 00:23:39,377 and a good human being… 354 00:23:40,462 --> 00:23:41,838 be a good human being." 355 00:23:44,007 --> 00:23:46,593 [interviewer] When you look at a figure like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 356 00:23:46,676 --> 00:23:49,179 how is it that that case still is not resolved? 357 00:23:49,679 --> 00:23:54,476 I think the fact that we have individuals in custody today for close to 20 years… 358 00:23:55,685 --> 00:23:57,020 without resolution… 359 00:23:57,687 --> 00:24:02,275 some people might view that as a criticism of the military commission process. 360 00:24:02,358 --> 00:24:07,655 To me, it speaks to the difficulties of dealing with these kinds of actors, 361 00:24:07,739 --> 00:24:11,534 who continue to pose a threat to the safety of our country. 362 00:24:12,118 --> 00:24:14,370 And I think it’s reflected by the fact 363 00:24:14,454 --> 00:24:17,832 that not just President Bush has wrestled with these issues, 364 00:24:17,916 --> 00:24:19,792 but I think President Obama, President Trump, 365 00:24:19,876 --> 00:24:22,670 I think President Biden’s gonna have to wrestle with these issues. 366 00:24:22,754 --> 00:24:24,547 How do we come to a conclusion? 367 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,511 [Fallon] This is what's happening now, because we tortured. 368 00:24:29,594 --> 00:24:32,805 Twenty years past September 11th, and we're still trying to figure out 369 00:24:32,889 --> 00:24:34,933 what to do with people who attacked us. 370 00:24:37,185 --> 00:24:39,562 [Wright] I was traveling once, several years ago, 371 00:24:39,646 --> 00:24:42,565 and I met with a foreign journalist who had been a detainee briefly. 372 00:24:43,066 --> 00:24:46,110 He said something that has always stayed with me about Guantanamo… 373 00:24:46,611 --> 00:24:49,489 which is that Guantanamo is not a place. 374 00:24:50,823 --> 00:24:51,699 It's a concept. 375 00:24:54,035 --> 00:24:55,578 And it's a concept about… 376 00:24:56,788 --> 00:24:59,207 who we want to be as Americans, in my opinion. 377 00:24:59,832 --> 00:25:01,459 Because America's a concept too. 378 00:25:02,794 --> 00:25:04,879 And we wanna fight for that concept. 379 00:25:04,963 --> 00:25:06,965 [dramatic music plays] 380 00:25:22,063 --> 00:25:25,316 Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, 381 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,028 our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, 382 00:25:29,112 --> 00:25:30,822 we are meeting our goals. 383 00:25:31,489 --> 00:25:33,992 As a result, starting next month, 384 00:25:34,075 --> 00:25:38,162 we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan 385 00:25:38,246 --> 00:25:39,747 by the end of this year, 386 00:25:39,831 --> 00:25:44,127 and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer. 387 00:25:45,837 --> 00:25:48,423 [Allen] In my conversations with the president… 388 00:25:49,215 --> 00:25:52,719 his instructions to me as I headed towards Afghanistan 389 00:25:52,802 --> 00:25:54,470 and ultimately to become the commander, 390 00:25:54,554 --> 00:25:57,640 were to begin the process of pivoting the war, 391 00:25:57,724 --> 00:25:59,517 and put it in the hands of the Afghans… 392 00:26:01,019 --> 00:26:04,856 ultimately for them to bear the vast majority of the requirement 393 00:26:04,939 --> 00:26:06,774 for the security of the country. 394 00:26:06,858 --> 00:26:08,234 [gunfire] 395 00:26:08,318 --> 00:26:11,029 [Obama] Our mission will change from combat to support. 396 00:26:11,863 --> 00:26:15,908 By 2014, this process of transition will be complete. 397 00:26:16,492 --> 00:26:20,330 And the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security. 398 00:26:20,413 --> 00:26:22,832 We had to begin to, as we say, "shut down the theater." 399 00:26:23,499 --> 00:26:26,502 And the day I took command, I asked the question, 400 00:26:26,586 --> 00:26:29,380 "How many facilities do we have in Afghanistan?" 401 00:26:31,215 --> 00:26:34,135 If you count battle positions, combat outposts, 402 00:26:34,218 --> 00:26:39,057 forward operating bases, and bases across Afghanistan in the summer of 2011, 403 00:26:39,140 --> 00:26:43,311 there were over 800 of these facilities in some form or another, 404 00:26:43,394 --> 00:26:47,065 some very small battle positions, some very large. 405 00:26:47,148 --> 00:26:49,192 Tens of thousands of coalition forces… 406 00:26:49,817 --> 00:26:53,071 with fighter and transport aircraft operating off of major runways 407 00:26:53,154 --> 00:26:56,783 and airfields across multiple locations around the country. 408 00:26:56,908 --> 00:26:58,242 We had to shut these down. 409 00:26:58,826 --> 00:27:01,245 And that was an enormous undertaking. 410 00:27:02,330 --> 00:27:06,501 They permitted me, ultimately, to bring in several thousand troops 411 00:27:06,584 --> 00:27:10,672 that did nothing but demilitarize bases, tear down the structures, 412 00:27:10,755 --> 00:27:12,799 and return the ground to what it looked like before, 413 00:27:12,882 --> 00:27:15,343 so that we would never have the image of Taliban 414 00:27:15,426 --> 00:27:18,846 and the black Taliban flag flying over an American base. 415 00:27:20,682 --> 00:27:22,684 [somber music plays] 416 00:27:24,227 --> 00:27:26,604 [reporter] This is the scene, March last year, 417 00:27:26,688 --> 00:27:31,401 after a deadly attack on US troops in Afghanistan's Wardak province. 418 00:27:31,484 --> 00:27:33,027 Another insider attack, 419 00:27:33,111 --> 00:27:35,780 or "green-on-blue attack" as they're called. 420 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:38,574 [all shouting commands] 421 00:27:40,410 --> 00:27:44,372 [Allen] Early in 2012, there surfaced on social media 422 00:27:44,455 --> 00:27:49,085 a video of some American troops urinating on Afghan dead, Taliban dead. 423 00:27:50,294 --> 00:27:53,881 And first of all that’s not who we are. We don't do that sort of thing. 424 00:27:53,965 --> 00:27:56,217 But in this case, here it is, a video, 425 00:27:56,300 --> 00:27:59,178 and some pretty obscene commentaries also occurring 426 00:27:59,262 --> 00:28:00,888 while the urination's going on. 427 00:28:01,806 --> 00:28:04,600 This enraged everyone in Afghanistan. 428 00:28:04,684 --> 00:28:06,269 It enraged the Afghan government. 429 00:28:06,352 --> 00:28:09,147 It enraged the Afghan military authorities. 430 00:28:09,230 --> 00:28:10,815 It enraged me. 431 00:28:13,735 --> 00:28:16,654 Within a week, an Afghan soldier, outraged over this, 432 00:28:16,738 --> 00:28:18,573 attacked his French advisers 433 00:28:18,656 --> 00:28:21,325 and killed four, tragically, right on the spot. 434 00:28:21,409 --> 00:28:24,036 A fifth died later, wounded a number of the French. 435 00:28:27,165 --> 00:28:29,083 [Anderson] Initially, when the Brits and Americans 436 00:28:29,167 --> 00:28:32,670 were training the Afghan National Security Forces, they would share bases. 437 00:28:32,754 --> 00:28:36,841 They would wake up, eat breakfast, exercise, eat dinner together. 438 00:28:36,924 --> 00:28:40,219 And there were real bonds and strong relationships formed that way. 439 00:28:40,303 --> 00:28:43,097 But the Taliban quickly realized this would be a very easy way 440 00:28:43,181 --> 00:28:46,225 to, you know, kill coalition forces… 441 00:28:46,768 --> 00:28:48,478 and stop the training effort. 442 00:28:50,021 --> 00:28:52,440 From 2008, 2009 onwards, 443 00:28:52,523 --> 00:28:56,486 it became more and more common for you to hear about in the middle of the night, 444 00:28:56,569 --> 00:28:58,613 an Afghan National Army soldier waking up 445 00:28:58,696 --> 00:29:01,657 and shooting four or five British or American soldiers. 446 00:29:01,741 --> 00:29:04,744 There were some cases where someone was offended by something 447 00:29:04,827 --> 00:29:08,206 he’d been ordered to do, or offended because he’d been disciplined. 448 00:29:08,998 --> 00:29:10,833 They became so common and so bad, 449 00:29:10,917 --> 00:29:13,544 that the two forces had to be completely separated. 450 00:29:15,254 --> 00:29:19,383 [Allen] Our advisers or our troops are attacked and murdered 451 00:29:19,467 --> 00:29:22,720 by the very individuals that we are seeking to prepare 452 00:29:22,804 --> 00:29:24,180 to defend themselves. 453 00:29:24,889 --> 00:29:27,517 This was something which had the potential 454 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,187 of really eroding the cohesion and the coherence 455 00:29:31,270 --> 00:29:33,439 of the coalition from inside out. 456 00:29:33,523 --> 00:29:36,317 We have never completely ended this. 457 00:29:38,861 --> 00:29:41,906 [Petraeus] Let me tell you, the Afghans can and will fight. 458 00:29:42,406 --> 00:29:45,827 They have definitely been fighting and dying for their country. 459 00:29:45,910 --> 00:29:47,495 [speaking indistinctly] 460 00:29:47,578 --> 00:29:50,832 If you look at the sheer casualties that they have sustained, 461 00:29:50,915 --> 00:29:53,167 there have been periods of time 462 00:29:53,251 --> 00:29:56,879 when we've worried that those casualties could be so great 463 00:29:56,963 --> 00:30:00,299 that they literally couldn’t be replaced over time. 464 00:30:01,384 --> 00:30:03,553 They have taken enormous casualties, 465 00:30:03,636 --> 00:30:07,390 and at a time when we are taking relatively few, 466 00:30:07,473 --> 00:30:09,851 any one of which is a tragedy. 467 00:30:10,434 --> 00:30:12,395 But they are taking many. 468 00:30:12,478 --> 00:30:15,022 And it has been that way for many years. 469 00:30:16,023 --> 00:30:20,486 I don't think you can ever accuse Afghans of not being fighters. 470 00:30:20,570 --> 00:30:22,280 [gunshots] 471 00:30:27,076 --> 00:30:29,620 [Chandrasekaran] As US troops started to come home, 472 00:30:30,121 --> 00:30:34,709 and our footprint there reduced as the surge was ending, 473 00:30:34,792 --> 00:30:40,548 US commanders once again turned to air strikes, 474 00:30:40,631 --> 00:30:45,636 and in this case, many of them launched by unmanned aerial drones, 475 00:30:46,137 --> 00:30:48,890 to beat back Taliban strongholds. 476 00:30:53,144 --> 00:30:56,689 The change in this tactic meant that there was a significant uptick 477 00:30:57,231 --> 00:30:58,566 in civilian casualties. 478 00:30:59,233 --> 00:31:00,776 And the consequence of that 479 00:31:00,860 --> 00:31:07,366 is that it simply turns more people against US and Afghan forces, 480 00:31:08,451 --> 00:31:10,953 and sends them into the arms of the Taliban. 481 00:31:16,292 --> 00:31:19,253 [Shamsi] The use of lethal drones and other kinds of air strikes 482 00:31:19,337 --> 00:31:22,214 really took off in 2009, 483 00:31:22,298 --> 00:31:26,469 and became even more expansive 484 00:31:26,552 --> 00:31:29,639 and entrenched under the Obama presidency. 485 00:31:31,599 --> 00:31:35,770 [reporter] Mr. Obama has deployed drones more aggressively than President Bush. 486 00:31:35,853 --> 00:31:39,231 For that, the president offered no apologies. 487 00:31:39,315 --> 00:31:42,818 Dozens of highly-skilled al-Qaeda commanders, trainers, 488 00:31:42,902 --> 00:31:45,655 bomb makers, and operatives have been taken off the battlefield. 489 00:31:45,738 --> 00:31:48,074 [reporter] Pakistani officials say this year, 490 00:31:48,157 --> 00:31:52,161 US drones hit more than 100 alleged militant targets 491 00:31:52,244 --> 00:31:55,915 in Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border. 492 00:32:01,295 --> 00:32:04,590 [reporter 2] Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born al-Qaeda operative 493 00:32:04,674 --> 00:32:05,925 who's been living in Yemen, 494 00:32:06,008 --> 00:32:09,053 homeland security officials call him the most significant threat 495 00:32:09,136 --> 00:32:11,514 to US homeland security, has been killed. 496 00:32:11,597 --> 00:32:15,142 [reporter 3] Intelligence for months tracked Awlaki near his hideout in Yemen. 497 00:32:16,811 --> 00:32:19,689 Early Friday, a CIA drone found its target. 498 00:32:20,564 --> 00:32:25,236 [Shamsi] Anwar al-Awlaki was killed by American drone strikes. 499 00:32:26,696 --> 00:32:30,324 [Maguire] Anwar al-Awlaki was the imam out in San Diego 500 00:32:30,992 --> 00:32:32,743 during the time that the hijackers, 501 00:32:32,827 --> 00:32:35,997 al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar, resided in San Diego. 502 00:32:36,497 --> 00:32:42,545 I believe that they were seen in his company on an occasion or two. 503 00:32:42,628 --> 00:32:47,341 Awlaki became known after 9/11. 504 00:32:47,425 --> 00:32:51,303 He became a very radical preacher. 505 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,895 [Shamsi] The government was claiming the authority to kill an American citizen 506 00:33:00,396 --> 00:33:01,731 without due process, 507 00:33:01,814 --> 00:33:08,029 without testing in court whether the decision to kill was legal, 508 00:33:08,112 --> 00:33:09,780 factually supported, 509 00:33:09,864 --> 00:33:14,368 whether some other means, short of killing, could have been used. 510 00:33:17,288 --> 00:33:20,833 There has been virtually no grappling 511 00:33:20,916 --> 00:33:27,673 with what it means that we have a program of extrajudicial killing, 512 00:33:28,299 --> 00:33:33,262 killing terrorism suspects without any kind of judicial oversight. 513 00:33:42,021 --> 00:33:45,983 [woman] A lot of people will say that the drone strikes were very useful. 514 00:33:46,067 --> 00:33:47,735 They were able to get target "A, B, and C," 515 00:33:47,818 --> 00:33:51,072 but my argument always was that when they took three targets out, 516 00:33:51,155 --> 00:33:54,116 they created 3,300 more targets. 517 00:34:03,709 --> 00:34:06,087 Because the drone strikes could not be fair, 518 00:34:06,170 --> 00:34:10,925 the drone strikes had collateral damage which ran into thousands. 519 00:34:18,349 --> 00:34:19,767 I was shocked when we said, 520 00:34:19,850 --> 00:34:21,977 “Okay, what do you consider to be a legitimate target?” 521 00:34:22,061 --> 00:34:25,523 And, you know, eventually, if you take out all the fluff of it, 522 00:34:25,606 --> 00:34:28,275 it was any male who was over a certain age 523 00:34:28,359 --> 00:34:30,778 and under a certain age, who was a good target. 524 00:34:34,031 --> 00:34:38,285 When you kill people with impunity, you create many, many more targets. 525 00:34:39,870 --> 00:34:42,623 [Bush] With weapons like the predator drone in our arsenal, 526 00:34:43,249 --> 00:34:48,587 our troops can conduct precision strikes on terrorists in hard-to-reach areas, 527 00:34:48,671 --> 00:34:50,381 while sparing innocent life. 528 00:34:50,464 --> 00:34:52,800 [Obama] Simply put, these strikes have saved lives. 529 00:34:54,218 --> 00:34:56,804 Moreover, America's actions are legal. 530 00:34:57,805 --> 00:34:59,515 We were attacked on 9/11. 531 00:35:00,224 --> 00:35:03,894 Within a week, Congress overwhelmingly authorized the use of force. 532 00:35:05,146 --> 00:35:08,315 [man 1] …her engagement party. It was an engagement party. 533 00:35:08,399 --> 00:35:09,900 [man 2 speaks indistinctly] 534 00:35:09,984 --> 00:35:12,611 [man 1] What was the date of the engagement party on this? 535 00:35:12,695 --> 00:35:14,113 Is this the official document? 536 00:35:14,196 --> 00:35:16,699 [dramatic music plays] 537 00:35:16,782 --> 00:35:20,077 [young man, in Pashto] Whenever I go back to my village, 538 00:35:20,161 --> 00:35:24,331 it doesn’t feel the same, it feels like some other village. 539 00:35:24,415 --> 00:35:26,333 I had a lot of friends in the village. 540 00:35:26,417 --> 00:35:31,755 I’ve seen several people getting amputations because of the bombing. 541 00:35:31,839 --> 00:35:35,134 Their bodies would be covered with blood 542 00:35:35,217 --> 00:35:37,761 and they have no hands nor feet, 543 00:35:37,845 --> 00:35:44,310 and their skin would stretch out because of the fire. 544 00:35:44,393 --> 00:35:49,690 And it would wave as if some cloth was hanging from the arm. 545 00:35:52,443 --> 00:35:56,780 I will not forget this suffering, even if I live 100 years. 546 00:35:56,864 --> 00:35:59,992 We will take our revenge, God willing. 547 00:36:01,827 --> 00:36:06,624 [Malik Jalaluddin] You see how their mind is full of hatred now. 548 00:36:06,707 --> 00:36:08,250 You create the terrorists. 549 00:36:08,334 --> 00:36:11,754 You forced all these innocent people to become a terrorist 550 00:36:11,837 --> 00:36:15,049 because it was your policy to kill our children. 551 00:36:16,508 --> 00:36:20,471 They say, "That if death is our only fate, we would rather die fighting back." 552 00:36:20,554 --> 00:36:21,847 They join the Taliban. 553 00:36:22,848 --> 00:36:25,267 [dramatic music plays] 554 00:36:38,447 --> 00:36:40,157 [reporter] Do you believe that American boots 555 00:36:40,241 --> 00:36:43,285 should stay on the ground in Afghanistan to stabilize a situation. 556 00:36:43,369 --> 00:36:45,079 [Trump] I wouldn't totally disagree with it, 557 00:36:45,162 --> 00:36:48,374 except at some point, are they gonna be there for the next 200 years? 558 00:36:48,457 --> 00:36:52,461 At some point, what's going on? It's gonna be a long time. 559 00:36:52,544 --> 00:36:56,048 We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place. 560 00:36:56,131 --> 00:37:00,511 We had real brilliant thinkers that didn't know what the hell they were doing. 561 00:37:00,594 --> 00:37:01,720 And it's a mess. 562 00:37:01,804 --> 00:37:02,721 It's a mess. 563 00:37:04,473 --> 00:37:07,893 Afghanistan is a total and complete disaster. 564 00:37:09,436 --> 00:37:11,313 Why isn't Russia there? 565 00:37:11,814 --> 00:37:14,191 Why isn't India there? 566 00:37:14,275 --> 00:37:16,277 Why isn't Pakistan there? 567 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,654 Why are we there, and we're 6,000 miles away? 568 00:37:21,615 --> 00:37:24,827 [Filkins] Trump made it absolutely clear, publicly and privately, 569 00:37:24,910 --> 00:37:26,036 he wanted to get out. 570 00:37:26,537 --> 00:37:32,501 [Trump] The American people are weary of war without victory. 571 00:37:33,460 --> 00:37:37,548 Nowhere is this more evident than with the war in Afghanistan. 572 00:37:38,257 --> 00:37:41,635 [Filkins] I spoke to a lot of the American diplomats, 573 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,264 and they made it clear to me that Trump’s attitude was, 574 00:37:45,347 --> 00:37:46,432 he didn’t even care. 575 00:37:46,932 --> 00:37:49,018 [Trump] If I wanted to win that war, 576 00:37:49,101 --> 00:37:53,230 Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth, it would be gone. 577 00:37:53,314 --> 00:37:56,400 It would be over, literally, in ten days. 578 00:37:56,483 --> 00:38:00,946 Not only did he wanna get out, but he said, "Look, to hell with the Afghans." 579 00:38:01,030 --> 00:38:03,240 "Fuck the Afghans," is what he said. 580 00:38:03,324 --> 00:38:05,242 "They’re never gonna stop fighting." 581 00:38:05,326 --> 00:38:07,953 "There’s no hope for those guys. We’re gone." 582 00:38:08,746 --> 00:38:11,206 The Taliban was listening to that, and they heard that. 583 00:38:11,790 --> 00:38:13,375 That was music to their ears. 584 00:38:15,294 --> 00:38:20,215 [man, in Pashto] Mr. Trump said the Taliban are strong people 585 00:38:20,299 --> 00:38:25,220 and we are strong people too. 586 00:38:25,304 --> 00:38:32,269 Strong people must shake hands with strong people, 587 00:38:32,853 --> 00:38:35,647 and fly over large spaces together. 588 00:38:36,690 --> 00:38:38,192 [Filkins] They fell in love with Trump. 589 00:38:38,275 --> 00:38:41,528 I mean, they really thought, "He's our guy in the White House." 590 00:38:53,207 --> 00:38:55,334 [woman] No. You can forget about it. No problem. 591 00:38:57,044 --> 00:38:58,712 Yeah, yeah. Come on. 592 00:39:00,547 --> 00:39:02,174 [journalist] Good. How are you, sir? 593 00:39:02,257 --> 00:39:04,635 [camera shutters clicking] 594 00:39:08,138 --> 00:39:13,936 [Ahmad Zia Massoud] For me, the question is how a major democracy in the world, 595 00:39:14,019 --> 00:39:15,813 like the United States of America, 596 00:39:15,896 --> 00:39:21,360 talks to a terrorist group that has killed 5,000 of its soldiers, 597 00:39:21,443 --> 00:39:24,071 about Afghanistan's political issues. 598 00:39:24,154 --> 00:39:25,864 This was really a surprise to me. 599 00:39:26,365 --> 00:39:29,952 [reporter] After 18 months of talks and nearly two decades of war, 600 00:39:30,035 --> 00:39:33,705 the US and the Afghan Taliban have just signed a long-awaited deal, 601 00:39:33,789 --> 00:39:37,793 aimed at paving the way to peace and the departure of foreign troops. 602 00:39:38,419 --> 00:39:40,421 [applause] 603 00:39:42,005 --> 00:39:43,924 [Filkins] Trump made a deal with the Taliban 604 00:39:44,007 --> 00:39:49,096 essentially to pull out all American forces by May 1st, 2021. 605 00:39:50,013 --> 00:39:54,143 [reporter] The Afghan government has freed nearly 5,000 Taliban prisoners, 606 00:39:54,226 --> 00:39:57,312 and agreed, in August, to release more. 607 00:40:00,649 --> 00:40:03,569 [Filkins] The deal was, basically, between the Americans and the Taliban, 608 00:40:03,652 --> 00:40:05,863 and the Afghan government's cut out of it. 609 00:40:06,530 --> 00:40:10,159 Basically, the Taliban agreed not to attack American forces, 610 00:40:10,242 --> 00:40:13,787 but they didn't agree not to attack the Afghan government. 611 00:40:16,165 --> 00:40:17,499 So what did they do? 612 00:40:19,251 --> 00:40:22,421 They undertook an assassination campaign. 613 00:40:22,504 --> 00:40:24,298 [siren wailing] 614 00:40:25,299 --> 00:40:28,218 [reporter] Violence and bloodshed are gripping parts of Afghanistan, 615 00:40:28,302 --> 00:40:29,761 threatening to upend peace talks 616 00:40:29,845 --> 00:40:34,016 and derail future negotiations, aimed at ending America's longest war. 617 00:40:36,810 --> 00:40:39,521 [Filkins] They very aggressively, 618 00:40:39,605 --> 00:40:45,194 but very precisely targeted kind of the heart of Afghan civil society. 619 00:40:45,277 --> 00:40:49,323 What basically, people would call the 2001 generation. 620 00:40:51,825 --> 00:40:52,701 It was the women. 621 00:40:54,161 --> 00:40:57,539 It was educators, teachers, professors. 622 00:40:57,623 --> 00:40:58,749 [sobbing] 623 00:40:58,832 --> 00:41:00,083 [mournful chatter] 624 00:41:01,543 --> 00:41:02,669 [man wailing] 625 00:41:02,753 --> 00:41:05,756 [Filkins] My God, they killed so many newspaper reporters, so many journalists. 626 00:41:07,466 --> 00:41:11,595 People that-- Kinda the beating heart of Afghan democracy. 627 00:41:11,678 --> 00:41:14,431 And they went after those people, kinda one by one. 628 00:41:14,515 --> 00:41:16,642 And that was really scary. 629 00:41:16,725 --> 00:41:18,727 [ominous music plays] 630 00:41:30,822 --> 00:41:36,328 [man] We signed an agreement with the Taliban to sit with other Afghans, 631 00:41:36,411 --> 00:41:40,415 including the government, to negotiate a roadmap for a political settlement, 632 00:41:40,499 --> 00:41:44,127 and to agree to a comprehensive, permanent cease-fire. 633 00:41:49,132 --> 00:41:52,052 And we are now witness 634 00:41:52,135 --> 00:41:54,930 to Afghans sitting across the table from each other. 635 00:41:56,265 --> 00:41:58,058 [no audible dialogue] 636 00:41:58,141 --> 00:42:00,269 [Filkins] Imagine the negotiating table. 637 00:42:01,562 --> 00:42:05,566 On one hand, you’ve got these unreconstructed Taliban leaders, 638 00:42:05,649 --> 00:42:10,445 who for the last many, many years, almost a decade, 639 00:42:10,529 --> 00:42:12,990 have been in Guantanamo in prison. 640 00:42:15,576 --> 00:42:18,203 [man, in Pashto] The people, who were killing us yesterday, 641 00:42:18,287 --> 00:42:21,081 are treating us friendly today, and are having chats with us. 642 00:42:23,375 --> 00:42:27,838 They were arrogant when it came to their resources and technology. 643 00:42:29,256 --> 00:42:32,384 [Filkins] They were very, very confident. I mean, really arrogant. 644 00:42:32,467 --> 00:42:35,053 They said to the Afghan negotiators, like, 645 00:42:35,137 --> 00:42:38,724 "Look, it’s gonna take us longer to make a peace deal with you 646 00:42:38,807 --> 00:42:41,602 than it would be for us to just walk in and take Kabul." 647 00:42:42,227 --> 00:42:43,979 They were really, really cocky. 648 00:42:45,188 --> 00:42:49,568 [Shinwari] Militarily, the Americans have used a variety of strategies 649 00:42:49,651 --> 00:42:53,697 and military equipment in Afghanistan. 650 00:42:54,197 --> 00:42:56,783 But they failed at every step. 651 00:42:56,867 --> 00:43:02,623 They did not achieve the success they had hoped for. 652 00:43:03,790 --> 00:43:05,250 [Filkins] That's one side. 653 00:43:06,585 --> 00:43:09,630 On the other hand, sitting across the table, 654 00:43:09,713 --> 00:43:11,923 is the representative of the Afghan government. 655 00:43:15,469 --> 00:43:18,722 Fawzia Koofi is really an amazing woman. 656 00:43:18,805 --> 00:43:22,392 And she kinda personifies all the changes 657 00:43:22,476 --> 00:43:25,020 that have overtaken Afghanistan in the last 20 years. 658 00:43:26,938 --> 00:43:29,441 During her time in Parliament, and also since then, 659 00:43:29,524 --> 00:43:31,943 she's really one of the big leaders 660 00:43:32,027 --> 00:43:34,071 in the big push for women’s rights in that country. 661 00:43:35,739 --> 00:43:38,784 The really stunning fact about Fawzia Koofi, 662 00:43:38,867 --> 00:43:41,995 was right before the peace talks started… 663 00:43:43,246 --> 00:43:44,498 someone tried to kill her. 664 00:43:48,543 --> 00:43:50,295 [Koofi] We were supposed to come on Sunday. 665 00:43:50,921 --> 00:43:52,798 This happened on a Friday. 666 00:43:55,050 --> 00:43:57,219 There was this car who blocked our road. 667 00:43:57,928 --> 00:44:00,681 And all of a sudden, somebody from the car is shooting. 668 00:44:01,765 --> 00:44:05,936 After a few seconds, then you start realizing that you’re shot. 669 00:44:06,019 --> 00:44:08,438 So then bleeding started, 670 00:44:08,522 --> 00:44:10,482 and I could not move my hand. 671 00:44:11,525 --> 00:44:13,652 So the bullet was hit here… 672 00:44:15,779 --> 00:44:16,613 here… 673 00:44:17,489 --> 00:44:23,328 and then all the way it went here, fracture here, and got stuck here. 674 00:44:23,412 --> 00:44:25,205 So they removed it from here. 675 00:44:26,373 --> 00:44:30,127 My daughter kept me awake by saying that, "Don't close your eyes." 676 00:44:30,210 --> 00:44:33,672 Because after a lot of blood loss, I could go out of conscious. 677 00:44:33,755 --> 00:44:35,632 And she kept me awake. 678 00:44:36,383 --> 00:44:39,010 This was absolutely related to the peace talks, 679 00:44:39,094 --> 00:44:41,221 because they knew that I’m going to be here. 680 00:44:41,304 --> 00:44:43,557 Probably they were afraid of my voice. 681 00:44:45,684 --> 00:44:49,980 This indicates the extent of the violence and war in Afghanistan. 682 00:44:50,063 --> 00:44:53,191 And this indicates the importance of the process, 683 00:44:53,275 --> 00:44:56,194 the peace process, to stop this bloodshed. 684 00:44:57,571 --> 00:44:59,281 Like many other Afghan women, 685 00:44:59,364 --> 00:45:02,951 I have witnessed Taliban whipping women on the street 686 00:45:03,034 --> 00:45:06,037 for not wearing proper hijab or burka… 687 00:45:06,538 --> 00:45:10,542 for going to see a doctor without a male companion. 688 00:45:11,626 --> 00:45:15,172 Afghanistan is one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman. 689 00:45:15,255 --> 00:45:18,508 How much more shall we compromise for the cost of peace? 690 00:45:27,851 --> 00:45:30,520 [Filkins] President Biden decided we're leaving. 691 00:45:31,772 --> 00:45:34,357 [Biden] We'll not conduct a hasty rush to the exit. 692 00:45:34,441 --> 00:45:37,527 We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely. 693 00:45:38,278 --> 00:45:42,783 And we will do it in full coordination with our allies and partners, 694 00:45:43,283 --> 00:45:46,745 who now have more forces in Afghanistan than we do. 695 00:45:48,622 --> 00:45:53,001 [Filkins] We’re not leaving by May 1st, but we will be out before September 11th, 696 00:45:53,084 --> 00:45:55,003 which would be the 20th anniversary. 697 00:45:55,921 --> 00:45:57,005 No conditions. 698 00:45:57,088 --> 00:45:58,131 Um… 699 00:45:58,215 --> 00:46:01,009 The Taliban doesn’t have to do A, B, C, D, or E. 700 00:46:01,676 --> 00:46:02,511 We’re gone. 701 00:46:06,264 --> 00:46:10,185 I went to Kabul in December 2020. 702 00:46:10,685 --> 00:46:12,187 I saw President Ghani. 703 00:46:13,188 --> 00:46:14,314 They felt abandoned. 704 00:46:14,397 --> 00:46:17,025 They felt like, "Look. We love the Americans." 705 00:46:17,108 --> 00:46:18,777 "We have elections here." 706 00:46:18,860 --> 00:46:21,196 "We’re a functioning democracy in the middle of Asia." 707 00:46:21,279 --> 00:46:22,656 "We believe in what you believe." 708 00:46:24,658 --> 00:46:28,537 What I felt when I was there was fear. 709 00:46:31,623 --> 00:46:33,917 I mean, it was like, "Oh my God, the Americans are leaving… 710 00:46:35,210 --> 00:46:38,713 the Taliban are here, they are among us, and they’re coming after us." 711 00:46:38,797 --> 00:46:41,925 And, you know, as long as it stays off the TV screens… 712 00:46:42,634 --> 00:46:44,094 the world’s not gonna care. 713 00:46:44,594 --> 00:46:46,680 [dramatic music plays] 714 00:46:53,311 --> 00:46:57,357 [Biden] The United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan: 715 00:46:57,858 --> 00:47:00,485 to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11… 716 00:47:00,986 --> 00:47:03,488 and to deliver justice to Osama bin Laden… 717 00:47:03,989 --> 00:47:08,410 and to degrade the terrorist threat to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base 718 00:47:08,493 --> 00:47:11,830 from which attacks could be continued against the United States. 719 00:47:12,539 --> 00:47:15,584 We achieved those objectives. That’s why we went. 720 00:47:16,376 --> 00:47:19,880 We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. 721 00:47:20,881 --> 00:47:25,051 And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone 722 00:47:25,135 --> 00:47:28,889 to decide their future, and how they want to run their country. 723 00:47:29,681 --> 00:47:34,311 [reporter 1] The Taliban is rapidly taking over towns and districts. 724 00:47:34,394 --> 00:47:38,857 [reporter 2] The Taliban said Friday, it had seized control of 85% of Afghanistan, 725 00:47:38,940 --> 00:47:41,985 with fighters tightening their grip on strategic areas. 726 00:47:43,528 --> 00:47:46,615 [Biden] Let me ask those who want us to stay: 727 00:47:47,282 --> 00:47:48,617 How many more? 728 00:47:48,700 --> 00:47:52,203 How many thousands more of America’s daughters and sons 729 00:47:52,287 --> 00:47:53,955 are you willing to risk? 730 00:47:54,039 --> 00:47:56,124 How long would you have them stay? 731 00:47:57,959 --> 00:47:59,461 [reporter] US defense officials say 732 00:47:59,544 --> 00:48:01,796 the last remaining American and NATO troops 733 00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:05,258 have left the Bagram military air base in Afghanistan, 734 00:48:05,342 --> 00:48:07,969 and handed it over to Afghan forces. 735 00:48:11,806 --> 00:48:14,267 [McMaster] I'd just like to say, where are the humanitarians? 736 00:48:14,851 --> 00:48:17,520 Why aren’t the humanitarians up in arms 737 00:48:17,604 --> 00:48:21,149 about this disengagement from Afghanistan? 738 00:48:21,232 --> 00:48:25,320 A disengagement that is already causing tremendous suffering. 739 00:48:25,403 --> 00:48:30,450 That already, after the US penned the agreement with the Taliban, 740 00:48:30,533 --> 00:48:33,703 we saw an attack on a maternity hospital, 741 00:48:33,787 --> 00:48:37,540 in which the Taliban killed infants and expectant mothers. 742 00:48:37,624 --> 00:48:41,211 Where we saw attacks in marketplaces that killed scores of Afghans. 743 00:48:41,294 --> 00:48:44,089 We saw an attack on the American University in Kabul, 744 00:48:44,172 --> 00:48:47,676 where they callously gunned down young people, including women, 745 00:48:47,759 --> 00:48:50,804 who wanted to strengthen their country and build a better future 746 00:48:50,887 --> 00:48:52,806 for generations of Afghans to come. 747 00:48:52,889 --> 00:48:55,558 So I would just like to ask, where's the outrage? 748 00:48:56,059 --> 00:48:57,477 Where are the humanitarians, 749 00:48:57,560 --> 00:49:01,022 and why aren’t they concerned about us empowering 750 00:49:01,106 --> 00:49:02,774 this terrorist organization, 751 00:49:02,857 --> 00:49:06,903 this organization that has a brutal and murderous agenda, 752 00:49:06,987 --> 00:49:08,989 on our way out of Afghanistan? 753 00:49:13,743 --> 00:49:17,580 [Massoud] The moment the Americans leave Afghanistan and their forces are not here… 754 00:49:18,164 --> 00:49:20,834 international terrorism will come back. 755 00:49:20,917 --> 00:49:23,461 And all that investment that has been made in Afghanistan 756 00:49:23,545 --> 00:49:26,715 over the last 19 years, will all be gone. 757 00:49:32,387 --> 00:49:34,389 [leader shouting directives] 758 00:49:42,272 --> 00:49:44,441 [soldier 1, in Pashto] The only thing that exists 759 00:49:44,524 --> 00:49:47,360 is that the Taliban believe they have won this war, 760 00:49:47,444 --> 00:49:49,320 the United States is escaping… 761 00:49:49,946 --> 00:49:52,907 and they should be handed the keys to the door of this country… 762 00:49:54,451 --> 00:49:58,163 so they can come and establish their own Emirate. 763 00:50:02,125 --> 00:50:04,961 [soldier 2] Even if the Americans withrdraw their forces, we are prepared… 764 00:50:06,421 --> 00:50:08,423 to fulfill our duties. 765 00:50:09,257 --> 00:50:13,094 We'll be standing to defend our country as long as there's blood in our bodies. 766 00:50:13,178 --> 00:50:15,555 We're not gonna surrender our country to the Taliban. 767 00:50:16,473 --> 00:50:20,101 [soldier, in English] This is our fight. This is my country. This is my people. 768 00:50:20,185 --> 00:50:21,227 This is my army. 769 00:50:21,728 --> 00:50:22,729 Remember this face. 770 00:50:23,229 --> 00:50:25,732 This is not the old Afghanistan. 771 00:50:25,815 --> 00:50:27,108 This is the new generation. 772 00:50:27,192 --> 00:50:30,445 This is the new people, the new young generation… 773 00:50:31,196 --> 00:50:32,822 and the new Army. 774 00:50:36,117 --> 00:50:38,787 [soldier 3, in Pashto] In the beginning, when I joined the army, 775 00:50:38,870 --> 00:50:41,873 it was because of helplessness. But right now, our situation is better. 776 00:50:41,956 --> 00:50:45,418 We've joined the army to defend our home, as there are too many miseries. 777 00:50:45,502 --> 00:50:47,170 We need to defend our country. 778 00:50:54,052 --> 00:51:00,183 The Taliban logic and reason is that the government of Afghanistan 779 00:51:00,266 --> 00:51:03,269 is the outcome of the occupation of Afghanistan. 780 00:51:04,312 --> 00:51:08,191 When the Americans leave, 781 00:51:08,274 --> 00:51:12,612 the outcome of their occupation must be destroyed too, 782 00:51:12,695 --> 00:51:16,241 and establish a new government 783 00:51:16,324 --> 00:51:19,744 that is acceptable for all the people of Afghanistan. 784 00:51:22,997 --> 00:51:26,626 [woman] My message to the bloodsucker Taliban 785 00:51:26,709 --> 00:51:31,965 is that I have lost one of my children in the army 786 00:51:32,048 --> 00:51:35,510 on the path of defending the country 787 00:51:35,593 --> 00:51:40,890 and I will never stop supporting the Afghan National Army. 788 00:51:42,475 --> 00:51:48,481 I will raise my remaining children and will present them to the ANA, 789 00:51:48,565 --> 00:51:53,736 so they fight against the oppressor and bloodsucker enemies of the country, 790 00:51:53,820 --> 00:51:56,489 and break their jaws. 791 00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:04,581 [Shinwari] I assure you that we definitely want good relations 792 00:52:04,664 --> 00:52:08,418 with the Americans and NATO. 793 00:52:08,918 --> 00:52:13,506 In the agreement signed between the Taliban and the Americans, 794 00:52:13,590 --> 00:52:20,388 you will find that one huge thing the Taliban gave up on 795 00:52:20,471 --> 00:52:24,142 was relations with al-Qaeda and other groups. 796 00:52:24,225 --> 00:52:27,312 This was the greatest thing to give up on. 797 00:52:28,479 --> 00:52:33,651 Taliban gave up on these relations only for the negotiations to succeed, 798 00:52:33,735 --> 00:52:39,407 and they said that we no longer maintain relations with al-Qaeda and other groups. 799 00:52:42,243 --> 00:52:47,540 [soldier 4] Now that the Americans have made the decision 800 00:52:47,624 --> 00:52:50,418 of withdrawing their forces after 20 years, 801 00:52:50,501 --> 00:52:55,048 they have trained us professionally, and no problems will be created. 802 00:52:55,131 --> 00:52:58,593 We are ready to defend our country ourselves. 803 00:53:01,763 --> 00:53:03,765 [dramatic music plays] 804 00:53:08,561 --> 00:53:10,813 [Lee] September 11th changed the world. 805 00:53:13,316 --> 00:53:15,443 Our country is in a state of mourning. 806 00:53:16,277 --> 00:53:19,072 Some of us must say, let's step back for a moment. 807 00:53:19,155 --> 00:53:21,282 Let's just pause, just for a minute, 808 00:53:21,783 --> 00:53:25,620 and think through the implications of our actions today… 809 00:53:26,329 --> 00:53:29,916 so that this does not spiral out of control. 810 00:53:32,961 --> 00:53:35,797 The Authorization to Use Military Force, 811 00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:38,299 it’s been used over 41 times… 812 00:53:39,175 --> 00:53:41,344 in about 19 countries… 813 00:53:41,844 --> 00:53:44,013 not related at all to 9/11. 814 00:53:44,097 --> 00:53:48,685 It’s also been used for domestic spying in the United States. 815 00:53:49,269 --> 00:53:52,981 It’s been used in Somalia, Yemen, you name it. 816 00:53:53,564 --> 00:53:57,652 It’s been used all over the world as the basis to use force, 817 00:53:57,735 --> 00:54:01,239 and to bomb and engage in military operations. 818 00:54:01,322 --> 00:54:03,449 That is unconstitutional. 819 00:54:04,158 --> 00:54:06,577 It sets the stage for perpetual war. 820 00:54:08,579 --> 00:54:11,249 [Gonzales] I never envisioned that, still today, 821 00:54:11,332 --> 00:54:14,294 that Authorization to Use Military Force is still relied upon, 822 00:54:14,377 --> 00:54:16,796 or at least cited by administrations 823 00:54:16,879 --> 00:54:19,590 to use force around the nation against terrorist groups. 824 00:54:19,674 --> 00:54:21,259 We never would've envisioned that. 825 00:54:21,759 --> 00:54:24,762 Our thinking was that we’re gonna go after al-Qaeda. 826 00:54:24,846 --> 00:54:27,765 And once we do that, then our job is done. 827 00:54:27,849 --> 00:54:30,727 And once we’re confident that we’ve eliminated Afghanistan 828 00:54:30,810 --> 00:54:33,688 as a safe haven, that that would be the end of the reliance upon 829 00:54:33,771 --> 00:54:35,773 the Authorization to Use Military Force. 830 00:54:35,857 --> 00:54:39,193 It was meant to go after al-Qaeda and those responsible for 9/11. 831 00:54:39,902 --> 00:54:41,946 But it’s still operative today. 832 00:54:42,030 --> 00:54:43,740 At some point it’s gotta end. 833 00:55:02,884 --> 00:55:05,303 [dramatic music plays] 834 00:55:08,598 --> 00:55:14,479 [Graff] 9/11, in many ways, is as clear a dividing line as we have 835 00:55:14,562 --> 00:55:17,231 between the 20th century and the 21st. 836 00:55:17,315 --> 00:55:22,070 It is, in many ways, the start of our modern history. 837 00:55:23,654 --> 00:55:27,742 The biggest thing that 9/11 did, was it made America afraid. 838 00:55:28,951 --> 00:55:31,788 [reporter] Today it's anthrax, tomorrow it's some other threat. 839 00:55:31,871 --> 00:55:34,082 What is it? Where will it stop? 840 00:55:34,791 --> 00:55:39,212 [Graff] We see that in the architecture of the buildings 841 00:55:39,295 --> 00:55:43,549 and the public spaces that we spend our lives in. 842 00:55:44,092 --> 00:55:48,096 It affected our trust in institutions… 843 00:55:48,679 --> 00:55:51,808 the failures of the US government in the lead-up to 9/11. 844 00:55:52,517 --> 00:55:56,396 My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, 845 00:55:56,479 --> 00:55:57,855 solid sources. 846 00:55:58,648 --> 00:56:01,651 [Graff] The failures of US intelligence and the media 847 00:56:01,734 --> 00:56:04,195 in the run-up to the Iraq War, 848 00:56:04,278 --> 00:56:10,118 changed the way that Americans looked at its government and its media, 849 00:56:10,201 --> 00:56:13,371 and who it trusted as voices. 850 00:56:14,247 --> 00:56:16,290 [man ]Do you even know what we're talking about, man? 851 00:56:16,416 --> 00:56:19,752 You read a report four years ago and you think you know what happened. 852 00:56:19,836 --> 00:56:24,757 [Graff] 9/11, in some ways, was the original modern conspiracy theory. 853 00:56:27,051 --> 00:56:33,266 The Homeland Security money that flowed out in billions of dollars 854 00:56:33,349 --> 00:56:38,104 in grants, to local and state law enforcement militarizing them, 855 00:56:38,187 --> 00:56:42,567 in many ways brought that own war home. 856 00:56:44,902 --> 00:56:50,867 This is one of the two or three dates in American history 857 00:56:50,950 --> 00:56:54,871 that has changed all of the rest of American history. 858 00:57:01,836 --> 00:57:03,838 [no audible dialogue] 859 00:57:06,007 --> 00:57:09,302 [Hoffman] Sadly, I think that if Osama bin Laden were alive today, 860 00:57:09,385 --> 00:57:11,846 he’d be a happy man, or at least he’d be contented. 861 00:57:12,346 --> 00:57:15,641 The enterprise that he commenced in 1988 862 00:57:16,267 --> 00:57:19,020 has survived for more than three decades. 863 00:57:19,103 --> 00:57:22,273 It has challenged the most technologically advanced military 864 00:57:22,356 --> 00:57:24,734 in the history of mankind, the United States. 865 00:57:28,446 --> 00:57:30,114 On 9/11 there was one al-Qaeda. 866 00:57:31,157 --> 00:57:35,286 Today there’s four times as many foreign terrorists organizations 867 00:57:35,369 --> 00:57:39,207 on the State Department's list, that share al-Qaeda's ideology. 868 00:57:39,290 --> 00:57:43,294 That still regard bin Laden as their hero, as their mentor, 869 00:57:43,377 --> 00:57:46,255 as the person they aspire to emulate. 870 00:57:47,215 --> 00:57:48,799 The phrase "The War on Terror," 871 00:57:48,883 --> 00:57:52,345 I think, was an enormously compelling summons to battle, 872 00:57:52,428 --> 00:57:53,971 but it was enormously misleading. 873 00:57:55,890 --> 00:57:57,683 It should have been a war on terrorism 874 00:57:57,767 --> 00:58:00,102 because then it would’ve been focused on the group, 875 00:58:00,186 --> 00:58:03,147 on the individuals who had caused the 9/11 attacks 876 00:58:03,231 --> 00:58:05,316 and were continuing to threaten us. 877 00:58:05,942 --> 00:58:08,611 Once it became a war on terror, it became anything that scared us. 878 00:58:11,113 --> 00:58:14,325 [Allen] I’m not gonna try to justify the trillion dollars of investment, 879 00:58:14,408 --> 00:58:17,870 or try to explain all of the individual pieces 880 00:58:18,579 --> 00:58:20,498 that has gone into 20 years of war. 881 00:58:21,666 --> 00:58:26,671 But today, more than 40% of schoolchildren in Afghanistan are women. 882 00:58:26,754 --> 00:58:30,925 The numbers of Afghan children who die in childbirth is reduced dramatically. 883 00:58:31,008 --> 00:58:33,844 The access to medical care has been vastly expanded 884 00:58:33,928 --> 00:58:35,721 to Afghans across the country. 885 00:58:37,056 --> 00:58:40,393 The opportunities for Afghans to have a credible education… 886 00:58:41,269 --> 00:58:43,187 not just at the elementary school level, 887 00:58:43,271 --> 00:58:45,648 but secondary school and at the university level, 888 00:58:45,731 --> 00:58:47,275 is expanded around the country. 889 00:58:47,358 --> 00:58:48,651 [no audible dialogue] 890 00:58:48,734 --> 00:58:51,195 So there will be some that will say it was not worth it. 891 00:58:52,405 --> 00:58:55,116 But when you see the young Afghan women going off to school, 892 00:58:55,199 --> 00:58:57,201 or you see Afghan women who are executives, 893 00:58:57,285 --> 00:59:02,665 or you see aspects of the Afghan economy which are growing into competitiveness 894 00:59:02,748 --> 00:59:05,960 with other elements within the developing or the developed world… 895 00:59:08,588 --> 00:59:09,589 uh… 896 00:59:09,672 --> 00:59:11,924 I would say that there has been progress. 897 00:59:12,008 --> 00:59:15,011 [chanting in call and response] 898 00:59:22,268 --> 00:59:24,270 [dramatic music plays] 899 00:59:38,492 --> 00:59:40,536 [woman] It’s important to learn your history. 900 00:59:40,620 --> 00:59:44,415 It’s important to know the full scope of what led to 9/11… 901 00:59:45,207 --> 00:59:47,209 9/11 itself, the aftermath. 902 00:59:47,835 --> 00:59:51,464 It’s important to know the good, the bad, the ugly, the real. 903 00:59:55,134 --> 00:59:57,136 [mournful music plays] 904 01:00:14,070 --> 01:00:18,282 [Bouchat] After September 11th, if you would've asked me, "How are you?" 905 01:00:18,783 --> 01:00:21,994 I would've said, "I'm fine. I'm alive. I'm okay." 906 01:00:22,912 --> 01:00:24,914 I did not realize I was not okay. 907 01:00:25,748 --> 01:00:28,542 I was a functioning, uh, zombie. 908 01:00:31,754 --> 01:00:35,591 When I really understood it, was in 2006. 909 01:00:36,592 --> 01:00:39,512 That's when the tribute museum opened. 910 01:00:42,014 --> 01:00:45,101 That's when I really understood I needed to tell the story. 911 01:00:45,184 --> 01:00:49,689 I needed to talk about the people we lost, about the events. 912 01:00:50,439 --> 01:00:51,899 And I needed to share that. 913 01:01:14,171 --> 01:01:16,382 [Berkman] I hope what we don’t forget about 9/11 914 01:01:16,465 --> 01:01:21,429 is how our country tried to come together on 9/11, 915 01:01:21,512 --> 01:01:23,472 to help each other. 916 01:01:23,931 --> 01:01:28,519 This was before we decided we were gonna retaliate, 917 01:01:28,602 --> 01:01:32,523 or take action against whoever was responsible. 918 01:01:33,691 --> 01:01:36,861 We have so many lessons we can learn from 9/11, 919 01:01:36,944 --> 01:01:41,115 but we should not think that hate… 920 01:01:42,366 --> 01:01:45,953 is ever a good response. 921 01:01:46,746 --> 01:01:48,706 That-- It’s only love. 922 01:01:54,253 --> 01:01:55,129 That’s it. 923 01:02:01,051 --> 01:02:04,680 [Frederick] Every 9/11 anniversary, it's like it’s fresh all over again. 924 01:02:05,723 --> 01:02:08,851 You don’t forget. You never forget. And I never will. 925 01:02:10,478 --> 01:02:12,646 It’s just something that sticks with you like glue. 926 01:02:12,730 --> 01:02:14,398 You never, never forget. 927 01:02:20,112 --> 01:02:24,366 But my real joy of all this is that I was able to meet Leigh and Faye. 928 01:02:25,701 --> 01:02:27,995 [indistinct chatter] 929 01:02:29,330 --> 01:02:32,166 You know, my whole life changed after meeting them, 930 01:02:32,249 --> 01:02:33,751 knowing that they were alive and well. 931 01:02:35,085 --> 01:02:38,839 We kept in touch with each other after that, and they became my family. 932 01:02:39,507 --> 01:02:40,633 Which is beautiful. 933 01:02:40,716 --> 01:02:43,511 And to this day, Faye is my mom from Chicago. 934 01:02:43,594 --> 01:02:45,179 [laughs] 935 01:02:45,262 --> 01:02:48,015 I really-- She’s such a beautiful person, you know? 936 01:02:49,767 --> 01:02:50,810 [military tattoo] 937 01:02:50,893 --> 01:02:52,895 [marching band playing bagpipes] 938 01:03:01,529 --> 01:03:04,698 [woman 1] Andrew Anthony Abate. 939 01:03:05,533 --> 01:03:08,702 Vincent Paul Abate. 940 01:03:09,870 --> 01:03:12,665 [man 1] Laurence Christopher Abel. 941 01:03:13,833 --> 01:03:15,751 [man 2] Alona Abraham. 942 01:03:16,919 --> 01:03:20,756 [woman 2] William F. Abrahamson. 943 01:03:21,882 --> 01:03:24,176 [man 3] Richard Anthony Aceto. 944 01:03:25,135 --> 01:03:28,806 [man 4] Heinrich Bernhard Ackermann. 945 01:03:29,974 --> 01:03:32,560 [woman 3] Paul Acquaviva. 946 01:03:33,853 --> 01:03:35,729 [man 5] Christian Adams. 947 01:03:37,773 --> 01:03:41,068 [somber piano rendition of "America The Beautiful" plays] 948 01:03:59,420 --> 01:04:01,046 [Rauf] America at its best 949 01:04:01,547 --> 01:04:06,135 is an America that believes in equality for all. 950 01:04:13,851 --> 01:04:14,894 In Islam… 951 01:04:15,519 --> 01:04:19,064 one of God’s 99 names is As-Salam… 952 01:04:19,607 --> 01:04:20,649 which means "peace." 953 01:04:23,569 --> 01:04:26,405 "Peace" is actually one of God's names. 954 01:04:27,323 --> 01:04:31,285 What greater ambition can a human being have in life… 955 01:04:31,869 --> 01:04:37,416 than bringing about a real, lasting, permanent peace? 956 01:04:45,424 --> 01:04:48,344 [mellow piano music plays] 957 01:05:42,481 --> 01:05:45,234 Subtitle translation by: